We use laser therapy to treat many patients with nail fungus and it is a good therapy for a lot of people.  Like most treatments, however, it doesn’t work on everyone.  The problem we are seeing is a number of patients coming in who have had laser treatment but who were not good candidates for the treatment.   There are many causes of thick and yellow nails and, in fact, nail fungus is not the most common cause of ugly toenails.  If you don’t have nail fungus the laser will not work.  You can read more here about how to determine the cause of your thick or discolored nails.

Learn more here about laser treatment for fungal nails.

Also, we have added a page to our website with instructions on how to best cut thick toenails and make them look as normal as possible.  You can learn how to trim thick toenails here.

Another treatment for nail fungus are oral medications such as Lamisil.  These drugs work to clear the nail 60% – 75% of the time to depending on which study you look at.  About 3.3% of patients who take the drugs have an elevation in liver enzymes, indicating possible liver damage.  This is compared to 1.4% of those taking a placebo.  Of those that do have increase in liver enzymes, they simply stop taking the medication and almost all have liver enzymes return to normal.  No drug is 100% safe for everyone, but overall these are safe medications for a vast majority of patients.    Every patient must weigh the benefits and risks and decide for themselves if they wish to take these medications.

Lasers are another option for treatment of toenail fungal infections. We don’t have as many studies supporting their use, but they probably work about 70% of the time.  Don’t, however, let anyone do laser therapy unless you are sure you have a fungal infections.  Laser treatment for fungal nails are not a scam, but some people who do not have fungal infections are being scammed into getting laser treatment.   To find out if you are a good candidate for laser therapy, you can contact us for an appointment .

Wishing you the best in foot health

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